Diddy trial reside: Defense rips feds’ push to take away Black juror from panel as ex-girlfriend returns to face

Sean “Diddy” Combs’s ex-girlfriend “Jane,” who is testifying under a pseudonym, has taken the stand for a fourth day.

Combs’s team is expected to finish their cross-examination tomorrow.

Prosecutors are trying to dismiss Juror #6 in Sean “Diddy” Combs’s sex trafficking case.

Prosecutors say they found the juror had a “lack of candor with the court.”

“We were very reluctant…it’s not something we want to do, but we’re compelled to do,” prosecutors said in court today.

Combs’s team called it a “thinly veiled effort to dismiss a Black juror.”

The defense is now expected to submit a response. Judge Arun Subramanian will address the issue further on Thursday.

The Real Time With Bill Maher sparked an outcry recently after joking about the trial, saying of the defendant: “Diddy is a bad dude, really bad. And we should lock him up and throw away the baby oil.”

But it was his comments on the post-MeToo landscape that really raised eyebrows.

Caitlin Hornik reports.

Combs’s sex trafficking trial reportedly has some celebrities so nervous about the prospect of being called to testify that they’ve hired lawyers to try to prevent it.

Ariana Baio has the story.

The rapper has vowed to make Donald Trump “aware” of his thoughts about Combs after the president was asked about the possibility of his granting clemency and he answered: “Nobody’s asked, but I know people are thinking about it. First of all, I’d look at what’s happening, and I haven’t been watching it too closely… I haven’t seen him. I haven’t spoken to him in years.”

Incensed, 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, voiced his opinion on the matter on Instagram on Friday, saying: “He said some really bad things about Trump. it’s not ok. Im gonna reach out so he knows how I feel about this guy.”

Kelly Rissman has more.

The comedian and actor was appearing at a Netflix event at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood to discuss his recent special What Had Happened Was… ahead of Emmy voting season when he made the comment.

“That Diddy s*** crazy, huh?” Foxx said.

“I don’t know if he’s going to jail but he’s a nasty motherf***er! Am I right? Especially for our community. White people, it’s cool, but for Black people, like, that was our hero! All that goddamn baby oil, boy.”

Kevin EG Perry has more.

Also last week, “Mia,” Diddy’s former assistant, tearfully explained, with her head hung low, that sharing the alleged sexual abuse she says she endured from her former boss had been “the worst thing” she has ever had to discuss.

“I can’t look my nieces or my goddaughter in the eyes and ever advise them if they were in this situation,” she said.

Here’s Ariana Baio’s report.

As we await the start of today’s proceedings, let’s recap a key moment from Jane’s testimony.

She revealed on Friday that Diddy bought her “new teeth” and is still paying rent for her home as part of a “love contract” she made with the music mogul.

Here’s more from Kelly Rissman.

Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial became tense on Tuesday when the mogul’s ex-girlfriend pushed back at a defense attorney’s questioning over a text referencing a Chanel bag during cross-examination.

Testifying under the pseudonym Jane Doe, the witness had just finished reading aloud graphic text messages from November 2021, which included setting up “hotel nights” and what she described as “fantasy talk,” before reading one in which she expressed her “frustration” that another one of his other girlfriends posted on social media about Chanel bag.

This text was “where the frustration starts,” Doe told the court. She previously testified that she had nothing “postable” from their three years together because “most” of that time with Diddy was spent in hotel rooms.

Their relationship was “a chaotic whirlwind of a dark life that I wasn’t proud of,” she said, but his other girlfriends spent quality time with him, she explained to the court.

Teny Geragos, one of Diddy’s defense attorneys, suggested that Doe was upset about the bag, prompting a tense exchange.

“You didn’t get a Chanel bag?” Geragos asked.

“I only got trauma,” Doe quipped.

Here’s Kelly Rissman’s report.

Sean “Diddy” Combs’s ex-girlfriend “Jane” will return to the witness stand for further cross-examination on Wednesday after four days of testimony.

Jane, who dated Combs from 2021 to 2024 and is testifying under a pseudonym, has testified that she often took part in “hotel nights” or “freak offs” with the music mogul, which involved her having sex with other men while he watched.

We’ve got a slightly later start time today, with the attorneys arriving at 12.30pm local time for a 1pm start.